Living over 300 miles away from a Disney resort, we are not able to visit as often as we would like. When we find ourselves needing that daily escape to a Disney park, we, like so many other Disney fans out there, rely on pictures, videos, podcasts, books, souvenirs, and collectibles to help bring the Disney magic closer to home.
Another important way for us to connect, if not the most important for our family, is listening to the music of the Disney Destinations. Whether it is listening to Spaceship Earth on the way to school or Club 33 background music while eating dinner, music from the parks plays a huge role in our daily lives.
While at Disney, enjoying attractions together as a family is key. We have been able to enjoy spending a majority of our time together but there are those rare occasions when our children are too nervous to try the more thrilling attractions. It is situations such as these that have made us master the art of combining Disney’s FASTPASS with a Rider Switch Pass. We accepted the fact that we would be riding solo on some of the best Disney attractions while the other waited with our children.
By including music from those “feared” attractions in our daily Disney playlists, the songs then become family favorites and allowed our kids to connect with the unknown.
As we were getting closer to our most recent Disneyland Resort vacation, we were listening to “Splash Mountain” a lot, in hopes that our five year old son would gain more interest to try it. Our seven year old daughter had been on the attraction before, but our son was still too nervous to try it due to the drop and getting wet, but he loved the music.
On the second night at the Resort, with a 20 minute Stand-By wait, our daughter asked to ride Splash Mountain. My wife and I were getting ready to draw straws to determine who would go with her, when our son shocked us all and said that he’d go, too.
We were ecstatic!!
There we were, a family of four excitedly working our way through the Splash Mountain queue. It didn’t stop there–we went on all of the Disneyland mountains together as a family on that trip because of their connection with the music!
Our Disney vacation experiences will never be the same. We can now share memories of the last splash down Chickapin Hill along with a recent spin on the Mad Tea Party. The Disney Mountains are no longer a mystery and our children now grow with excitement when they hear a song from one of our favorite thrilling Disney attractions. The developmental process for our children continues as they are now enjoying “Destiny” from Mission: Space and are looking forward to trying it for their first time next Summer.
The emotional impact of Disney music for our family cannot be overstated and we look forward to continuing to expand our audio library of Disney magic. If you find yourself vacationing with some weary travelers who are unsure about your thrill seeking habits, introducing music to the vacation planning experience weeks or months in advance is sure to provide a much needed boost of courage.”